Tag: Genesis

Relentless Pursuit

Deputy Marshall, Bass Reeves set the standard for relentless pursuit.  Born to slave parents in 1838 in Crawford County Arkansas, Reeves would become the first black U.S. Deputy Marshal west of the Mississippi and one of the greatest frontier heroes in our nation’s history.

Appointed by the infamous Judge Isaac Parker because of his significant knowledge of the area and ability to speak several tribal languages, Bass Reeves earned his place in history as one of the most effective lawmen in Indian Territory, bringing in more than 3,000 outlaws during his 35 years of service.

Though Reeves could not read or write it did not diminish his effectiveness in apprehending fugitives. He memorized every warrant and never failed to produce the right one. Reeves earned a reputation for his courage, success and ingenuity. He was a master of disguises and often utilized aliases.  A meticulous dresser, he was known for his trademark hat and two Colt pistols, butt forward for a fast draw.  Ambidextrous, he rarely missed his mark.  He was so renowned for his relentless pursuit, that noted female outlaw, Belle Starr turned herself in at Fort Smith when she heard Reeves had a warrant for her arrest.

But despite his reputation, Reeve’s tenacity and effectiveness is as nothing compared to the Lord’s relentless pursuit of those He calls.   In spite of Jacob’s trickery and his grasping self-concern and self-conceit, the Lord pursued him as he fled from the wrath of his brother Esau.  In this pursuit, the Lord revealed Himself and His promises.  In running for his life as a fugitive, Jacob found life through the relentless pursuit of God.

Join us this Lord’s Day, October 1, as we examine the story of Jacob’s flight from home in Genesis 28 and consider how God relentlessly pursues us, even when we are not pursuing Him.  We meet from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in The Commons at St. Andrews Anglican Church at 8300 Kanis Rd in Little Rock.  Click here for directions.

Come with a friend you and join us for fellowship and conversation. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Fairness of God

Most children’s games are simple.  They have simple rules and simple goals.  Yet every parent can attest that in no time at all, most children’s games devolve into intense and serious litigation.   Claims and counter-claims of unfairness erupt like Mount St. Helens.

Concern for justice and fairness is lodged deep within our souls.  For this reason the following scriptures from Romans 9 often cause fear and anxiety in our relationship to God.

And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.   Romans 9:10-16

These verses are provocative and appear to reveal a capricious God who acts unfairly, that is, until we go back to Genesis and consider the account of Jacob and Esau and realize there are no human heroes in their story.  Neither the brothers nor their parents act as we would expect Christians to act.  Modern counselors might say they put the ‘d’ in ‘dysfunctional family.’

Yet the focus is not on them, but on God’s determined purpose to be gracious to sinners and to freely choose to save some out of their sin.  Not because of anything worthy in them, but because of his free love alone.  God did not choose Jacob because of his greater worth, but in spite of his unworthiness.  This is the foundation of grace – that God demonstrates His love in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Join us this Lord’s Day, September 24, as we examine the troubling story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 27 and consider how God graciously saves us not because of what we have done, but in spite of it.  We meet from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in The Commons at St. Andrews Anglican Church at 8300 Kanis Rd in Little Rock.  Click here for directions.

Come with a friend you and join us for fellowship and conversation. We look forward to seeing you there.

Bumper Rails

Where were bumper rails when we were young?  Bowling was much harder than we imagined and gutter-balls were the mainstay of our early forays into the sport.  Children today, however, can experience the euphoria of crushing pins without the disappointment of gutter-dwelling, due to a truly marvelous modern invention – the bumper rail.  Throw in an adaptive bowling ramp and your average adult league bowler will be hard-pressed to beat a three year old without a sizeable handicap.

Older children may argue that this is an unfair advantage and bowling purists may complain that youngsters need to develop the character that comes from a single-digit score, but bowling alleys have learned that bumper rails and adaptive bowling ramps make the game more fun and significantly reduce crying among its fledgling bowlers.

In a similar way, the Lord graciously protects us when we struggle in our journey of faith.  Despite our struggles with unbelief, disobedience and conflict, the Lord, through His gracious providence keeps us out of many gutters and directs our paths when we are too weak to do so.   This great truth of God’s kindness in providence does not makes us apathetic or callous toward the demands of obedience or holiness, but rather increases our desire to grow in these areas out of gratitude for Him.  How has the Lord guarded and directed your path in the midst of a difficult faith journey?

Join us this Lord’s Day, September 17, as we examine Genesis 26 and consider how God graciously protects us when are struggling with unbelief, disobedience, and conflict in our journey of faith .  We meet from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in The Commons at St. Andrews Anglican Church at 8300 Kanis Rd in Little Rock.  Click here for directions.

Come with a friend you and join us for fellowship and conversation. We look forward to seeing you there.

Walking Away

While statistics vary from one study to another, it appears well established that a substantial percentage of young people in the United States who have grown up in Christianity will leave the faith following high school.  Data from the Southern Baptist Convention indicates that they are currently losing 70-88% of their youth after their freshman year in college and that 70% of teenagers involved in church youth groups stop attending church within two years of their high school graduation.  The reasons for this are varied.  Click here for a few statistics on the “whys.”

This apostasy is grievous, not just because of the waning influence of Christianity in our society, but because of the brokenness it brings to the lives of precious covenant children and the unfolding generations of their families.  Children who leave the faith are in grave danger.  Unwittingly, they are trafficked and abused by the enemy of their souls and by the world.  Yet parents are often too busy or blind to see the subtle and gradual departures from the faith in the lives of their children which lead to blooming atheism.

Abraham and Isaac treasured God’s covenant promises, so it is shocking to read that Esau, Isaac’s firstborn “despised his birthright” and all the promises and grace of God connected with it.  Esau was a man more concerned about the desires of the moment, certain that, in the end, everything would work out, no matter how he lived or what decisions he made.   But when a man despises the grace of God and loves only himself, mere tears of regret cannot restore what is lost forever.

Join us this Lord’s Day, September 10, as we examine Genesis 25 and consider the lives of Jacob and Esau and the warning their lives hold for us.  We meet from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in The Commons at St. Andrews Anglican Church at 8300 Kanis Rd in Little Rock.  Click here for directions.  Come with a friend you and join us for fellowship and conversation. We look forward to seeing you there.

Free to Love

The Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, legalizing same-sex marriage, was truly a watershed opinion.   While western civilization, especially Greco-Roman culture, accepted same-sex behavior in various degrees, it was never viewed as normative for marital relationships.   The modern mantra elevating this idea to the status of legal right is simply, “who are you to tell me whom I should love?” Any idea that intimate relationships are governed by something other than our own feelings is obnoxious to our culture.

While this question, “who are you to tell me whom I should love,” has been the thesis of many tragic love stories, is its essential assumption to be trusted?  Are there ideas or other relationships outside our feelings that should drive love relationships?   We are immediately confronted with this question in the biblical story of Isaac and Rebekah.

Isaac is the long awaited son of promise, born miraculously to Abraham and Sarah.  He is the one through whom the promise of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore is to come, yet the advance of middle-age finds him still single and unmarried.   Sarah has died and Abraham is extremely old.   So Abraham engages his servant to find a wife for Isaac and places him under specific binding constraints.

In our modernity, we are tempted disdain Abraham’s actions as artifacts of an antiquarian, chauvinistic, patriarchal culture, but are they?  Or are there timeless truths for us in the love story of Isaac and Rebekah?   Join us this Lord’s Day, September 3, as we examine Genesis 24 and consider the role of faith in our most intimate relationships.  We meet from 5:00 – 6:30 pm in The Commons at St. Andrews Anglican Church at 8300 Kanis Rd in Little Rock.  Click here for directions.

Come with a friend you and join us for fellowship and conversation. We look forward to seeing you there.